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What can make the Chase great?
What can make the Chase great? A change of scenery
Imagine a 12-race playoff with an equal mix of racetracks
By Joe Menzer, NASCAR.COM
September 8, 2008
12:07 PM EDT
Let the 2008 Chase to the Sprint Cup championship commence.
Yet as interesting as it appears it will be, it could be better. Much better.
So let us play NASCAR god with the schedule for a moment, if you will. This is fantasy stuff -- likely never to happen in any similar form, let alone the complete format about to be proposed. But if it could occur, it would take what has been for the most part a good thing and make it even more appealing.
The first fantasy improvement would be expanding the Chase from 10 races to 12. Twelve for the 12 who qualify for it. That would enable two more racetracks deserving of a Chase date their rightful spot in the sport, without messing up the rest of the schedule too much for anyone else.
Racetrack operators love being locked in on a date that works for them, so we don't want to mess with too many date and venue switches. Going to 12 races would enable Bristol and Richmond to be added to the mix without a dramatic date change for either track.
The Chase, after all, determines each season's champion. Wouldn't it be better if the best tracks on the circuit -- and every track configuration -- were all represented? Having established that, here is the fantasy Chase schedule one man, or One Menz, proposes:
1. Bristol -- Instead of having the Bristol night race in late August three races before the Chase, as it currently is, why not have it kick off the Chase? Imagine the sparks that would fly as drivers jostled for position, knowing that even those on the back end of the 12 who qualify now have an extra two races to try to make up points deficits.
2. Darlington (Labor Day) -- Why was this race moved in the first place? And since the Saturday night race has been so popular with fans since the event was moved from Labor Day weekend to Mother's Day weekend, keep it a night event. But the fact is, Darlington arguably is the most challenging (and also one of the most historic) racetracks on the circuit and deserves a date in the Chase.
3. Richmond -- As the schedule currently is constructed, the .75-mile track has a niche as the last race before the Chase. Under this scenario, it could be in the Chase itself without necessitating a drastic change in the race date. And again, it could be another night event -- which are proving wildly popular. Leave the last race before the Chase to Homestead, which quite frankly is not the best choice for the place to end the season but might be able to develop a better niche for itself in the new role.
4. New Hampshire -- Presently the first race in the Chase, it deserves to stay in but could be moved to No. 4 and still be held in mid-September to prevent weather from being an issue.
5. Kansas -- Currently the third race in the Chase, it would move to No. 5 without even requiring a date switch. Why leave such a new track in the sport's spotlight? Because this is one new venue that got it right from the start. With a seating capacity of 81,687, it wasn't overbuilt and has yet to see an empty seat; there should be some reward for that.
6. Sonoma -- If road-course races are going to be part of a Sprint Cup season, then one of the road courses ought to be included in the Chase that determines the series champion. And early October in California is less a weather risk than early October in Watkins Glen, N.Y., although one thought might be to rotate which road course gets the Chase spot each year.
Chase for the Sprint Cup
7. Talladega -- Right now it's the only restrictor-plate race in the Chase. Love 'em or hate 'em, they are part of the sport and they sure are fun for the fans to watch. So leave this one alone pretty much right where it is on the calendar.
8. Charlotte -- Lowe's Motor Speedway is perhaps the most storied 1.5-mile track on the circuit and has been home to some fantastic racing through the years. As with Talladega, leave it alone.
9. Martinsville -- What it may lack in infield amenities for teams, media and fans, it more than makes up for in the short-track racing it produces. Along with Bristol and Richmond, this would be the third short track in the Chase -- which needs more short-track racing and less of the generic mile-and-a-halves.
10. Texas -- How can you go wrong with putting a facility run by the creative Eddie Gossage in the Chase? Of course NASCAR officials already know this and that's why it's on the current schedule, located exactly two spots from the finish.
11. Phoenix/California/Las Vegas -- Rotate it until one proves that it truly deserves a second date -- and one in the Chase -- the most. The bet here is that if this was done, it would be a two-race rotation between Phoenix and Las Vegas before long, and that doesn't sound like too bad an idea.
12. Daytona -- Here is the kicker. While holding two major events in a three-month span at Daytona International Speedway might be a tough sell in the Florida market, this would be a way for NASCAR to have its Super Bowl twice a year, in the first race and the last. Sure, the race over Fourth of July weekend has been a tradition, but this could begin a new one and let someone else celebrate over the Fourth (if not take that weekend off).
Would you really want a wild, restrictor-plate shootout to determine the season's champion? Well, it is NASCAR's crown jewel racetrack -- and the drivers would have the rest of the 11 races in the Chase to put themselves in the most favorable positions possible. So the answer is yes. It would be exciting and unpredictable, something new mixed with something old.
The only track conspicuously missing from the list -- which under the aforementioned structure would include three short tracks, six intermediates, one road course and two superspeedway restrictor-plate affairs -- would be Indianapolis Motor Speedway. But frankly, while the pageantry and atmosphere surrounding the race there is fantastic, the racing isn't. Plus it could serve as a mid-season anchor as one of the biggest "regular-season" events.
Listen, it's all fantasy. Don't think for a minute that this, or anything even remotely close to it, is expected to happen. But it would be neat if it did.
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Auto racing, bull fighting and mountain climbing are the only real sports... the rest are just games........ Earnest Hemmingway
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